Introducing Carmen

There are people who name everything.  Our third son Chris, names everything Dante.  His dog is named "Dante the dog", his computer is named "Dante the computer", his car is named "Dante the Chevy" and his first born will probably be named "Dante the kid".  In high school my best friend Robin named her Vespa scooter "Spumoni".  We name pets but that is about it.  Reading other blogs and following other Airstream owners and writers, A lot of people name their trailers.  George and I have been thinking about different names and we were without any inspiration; nothing! nada, nope, everything sounded stupid.  

On our way home, we again decided to follow our curiosity and visit Berlin/ Ichthyosaur State Park in Gabbs, Nevada.  Always wondered about this place.  It is about one and a half hours from state route 95 (two hours from Hawthorn, NV)  a remote State Park which sits about 7,500 ft.  There is a old mining ghost town named Berlin and further up the road is a covered site where seven Ichthyosaurs were discovered.  When I could get cell service, I called ahead to find out if the park was open, if we could get in (it is winter at 7,500 ft) and could we see the fossils.  The nice gentleman who answered assured us we could get in and the park was open.  He agreed to meet us the next morning and give us a tour of the site.

We found the campground which has 14 sites nestled in piñon pines.  It is a nice campground but the RV pull thru sites are not very level.  It was Valentines Day and we used up the last of our firewood and had a big campfire, nice dinner and opened a good bottle of wine.  The sky was dark and you could see stars forever. What a fabulous place to star gaze.  I looked at our campsite and wondered. "where in the world has our little trailer been?"  Then it hit me, the 1980's computer geography game our kids played; "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego".  So our 1975 Tradewind Land Yacht is now named "Carmen".

In the morning the Ranger met us and gave us a tour of the dig site.  I didn't see the bones very well, but they have a diagrammed overlay that shows you where the fossils are and how they lay in situ.  These are some of the largest Ichthyosaurs in the world.  These were ocean swimming creatures, how they ended up at the top of a desolate mountain in the middle of Nevada at 7,500 feet is a puzzle.  

Our guide said they believe these particular Ichthyosaurs died about 250 million years ago, as they swam around the mega continent Pangea.  I can't even wrap my head around the time or the forces leading up to their discovery.  Nevada State Parks have been a wonderful discovery.  They are dog friendly, well maintained and very interesting.  Follow along and see where we end up on our next adventure!  Looking for a Carmen sticker, if anyone has one!

Valley of Fire, SP

When planning our trip to Death Valley, we decided to visit Valley of Fire State Park out side of Las Vegas.  This is a Nevada state park and it looked interesting.  Camping is on a first come basis, so we could not make reservations before we headed down.  We avoided downtown Las Vegas by taking the SR215 North Los Vegas bypass and made our trip so much easier.  About 35 miles east we took the turn off and headed out into nondescript desert.  We climbed a hill and at the top, looked out over the most amazing landscape; red rock jumbled in rock chaos.    

The park is really nice and the campgrounds have been some of the best we have visited.  We opted for full hook-up due to the problem with our 40 year old refrigerator, it wasn't staying cold on gas and needed shore power. We had nice hot showers every day after getting hot and sweaty hiking all day.  The camp sites had a nice shade structure and great fire pits.  Our first stop was the Visitor Center for a hiking map.  We found one and spent an hour learning about the geology, flora and fauna of the Valley of Fire and the history of the many ancient people who lived there.  From the Visitors Center we went up the spur road to where most of the trails are located.  The first hike was to the "Fire Wave" and I never found the exact place where you can photograph the wave.

    

There are several relatively easy hikes in this area.  Nothing was over 2+ miles and most were a combination of sand and some scrambling over rocks.  We could bring the dogs on a leash and always had water.  It was warm in mid- February and would be downright hot in the summer. I don't think you can take a "bad" shot in VoF, every scene is breathtaking.

Petroglyph Canyon

Desert Big Horned Sheep

"White Dome" hike had the "narrows," a slot canyon you can touch with your arms extended and the ruins of an old movie set.  "Mouse's Tank" is also called petroglyph canyon and the number and complexity of the petroglyphs is fantastic.

George and Lani in the Narrows

Phil hiking down "White Dome" trail

This park has some of the most photogenic places I have ever been.  These photos have NOT been photoshopped!  The colors through the day were amazing.  The reds, oranges, yellows were crazy.  I took hundreds of pictures and  have only cropped them.  The contrast between light and shadow was difficult but also created some fantastic shots.  Some of my favorite shots I took this trip.  I hope you enjoy them!

Fire Canyon

Atlatl Loop